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Bestowing 1961's The Innocents with the label of "haunted house horror" is too simplistic, and the accuracy of such a description is debatable. An adaptation of Henry James' 1898 novella The Turn of the Shrew, this is a chilling horror feature that's notable for being brilliantly ambiguous. When released, The Innocents was billed by Twentieth Century Fox as a horror film for the adult moviegoer since it's a serious and intellectual piece of work, rather than anything salacious, profane or cheap. Like 1963's The Haunting and 2001's The Others, this is a film which methodically develops tension and atmosphere, relying on what is unseen rather than rubber monsters or special effects.
Accepting a position as a household governess, Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) is charged with taking care of cute orphans Flora (Pamela Franklin) and Miles (Martin Stephens) at their uncle's luxurious mansion in the English countryside. It's a beautiful estate surrounded by beautiful gardens and ponds, and the house is overseen by live-in housekeeper Mrs. Grose (Megs Jenkins). Although everything seems innocuous at first, Miss Giddens is disturbed to learn that the family's last governess, Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop), died under unusual circumstances. Before long, Miss Giddens begins to see and hear strange things around the estate, leading her to believe that the property is haunted by the ghost of Miss Jessel and her late lover Quint (Peter Wyngarde). As the normally innocent behavioural patterns of the children begin to change and grow more devious, Miss Giddens begins to suspect that the spirits of the dead may be possessing them.
The Innocents is haunting in the truest sense. Forget the '90s remake of The Haunting, forget your contemporary perception of horror, and forget about digital effects to illustrate implausibly over-the-top ghosts - director Jack Clayton's horror opus is concerned with mood, atmosphere and eerie sounds. The Innocents benefits from its impressive gothic art direction, while the black-and-white cinematography by the masterful Freddie Francis (who also shot The Elephant Man) is extraordinary. It's Francis' composition and use of controlled lighting and shadows which impresses the most, exalting what could've been just another horror film to a genuinely artistic piece of work. The pervasively creepy atmosphere that's maintained throughout the film is also a credit to the chilling score by George Auric.
Truman Capote and William Archibald's screenplay is marvellous, deliberately unhurried and rich in engaging chatter. The Innocents is a small-scale pic and feels more like a stage play than a film, which may leave impatient contemporary horror fans twitching in their seats. But those with the appropriate attention span will find themselves engrossed in this scary picture as Clayton guides the narrative with a steady hand. Another notable aspect is the use of silence and eerie music to set the mood. The main tune is haunting, playing as an overture at the beginning which establishes the tone. The Innocents closes on a commendably uncertain note, with Clayton leaving us to decide whether the house is haunted or whether the sheltered, sexually repressed Miss Giddens is in fact going insane. Scholars will probably debate the film for years to come, a true credit to the filmmakers who provide enough evidence to support both theories.
Kerr was forty here, too old for the part of the twenty-year-old Miss Giddens. Nevertheless, she's a beautiful woman, and she works in the role. Kerr is attention-grabbing from start to end, and she's extremely good at conveying mental deterioration, frustration and isolation. Fortunately, there's a terrific cast surrounding her. Talented child actors are hard to come by, yet Franklin and Stephens are very good as Flora and Miles, who are part angel and part devil. Stephens is the standout; he's a powerful child star, calling upon an astonishingly broad range of emotions and selling the various aspects of his character. Also great is Megs Jenkins as the housekeeper.
The Innocents admittedly has dated all these years on, with a few patches of strictly ordinary filmmaking and with an opening credits sequence that's a bit on the weak side. Nevertheless, this is required viewing for horror enthusiasts and budding filmmakers, as it's a master class on how to generate hair-raising thrills and chills without resorting to gore or over-the-top special effects. Sure, those things have their uses, and there are numerous successful horror films which employ such techniques to terrifying effect. But scarcely any of them linger or pack the same power as The Innocents, which stimulates your intellect on top of raising the hairs on the back of your spine.
8.2/10
